So I was supposed to pick up a new vehicle this weekend, but after 2 weeks of dealing with a salesman, turns out I was misled, and because of this, unable to take delivery of the new vehicle…so I’m stuck fixing the shot axle on my Civic so I can get to/from work for a few days.
This is the 1995 Civic that i’m trying to sell, by the way…so it’ll have a new axle for the new owner.
The axle nut WILL NOT BUDGE…i wedged a 2 foot 3/8" extension bar in the studs to keep the wheel from rotating while trying to loosen it, and using an 18" breaker bar, i put so much pressure on this nut that i saw the bar wedged in place to keep it from rotating start to flex…and still nothing.
Put the brakes back together, wheel back on, and decided to give it a go with the car on the ground. and when i lift, the wheel spins even while on the ground (damn ice), and when i put the socket back on so that i’m pushing downward on it rather than lifting, the entire vehicle slid back a bit. wtf… I’ve soaked it overnight in PB blaster, still nothing.
Any tricks besides hitting it with a torch that someone could share?
Is the car drivable at all? Torch and a good impact gun? That prolly doesn’t help though.
The way you were doing it first is your best bet and to slide something like a jack handle over the breaker bar for extra leverage and that might work. Instead of 18" make it like 4’ ish and it is astounding what you will break loose.
Have someone push on the brakes to keep everything from spinning and use a longer/stronger breaker bar. and I would lift rather than push down, not sure why but its seems more controlled.
what does a big torque wrench have to do with anything? A torque wrench doesn’t generate torque. lol.
a good quality breaker bar with a section of pipe is all he will need. also, use a jack with a 2x4 under it to just barely support the socket so it doesnt strip the nut from getting off axis any since you won’t be able to hold it with your hand like usual
also also, turn the wheel a bit so you are not lifting parallel to the car’s body, no sense taking out the mirror or something stupid
No impact gun…called Advance Auto parts to see if they rent them, and they don’t. You can only rent regular hand tools from them. My jack isn’t one of the big floor ones with a 4 foot hollow handle i can use as an extension…might get a ride to Value or something just to buy a few feet of pipe, and try this.
The Haynes manual i referenced said to put the car in the air, with the wheel off, and wedge something in the studs to keep it from turning…but i didn’t like seeing what i had wedged in there starting to bend/flex. So i referenced a bunch of youtube tutorials, and they all said to get the axle nut started while the car was still on the ground.
Without a torch, impact gun, or air compressor, i guess just buying a pipe is my cheapest option at this point…
this is easier then most think. there are a few options here.
turn the wheel till its locked, get a friend to push on breaks, and jump on the breaker bar. yes jump on it, sometimes this is what it takes.
get a very large hammer, and hammer the ratchet downwards. hard and quick is key here.
heat, but you will probably cook your wheel bearings with this method.
you may want to use/borrow a 3/4 ratchet or breaker if you dont have one laying around. 1/2in will probably just break.
i personaly use the jumping on a long extension pipe to break them loose. ill balance with my hands on the hood and pretty much bounce up and down till it breaks free. but be carefull.
Impact tools are your friend, but I see that is not an option. I vote 1. from turbociv. You really may want a 3/4 inch breaker though. I snapped a 1/2 Husky one doing the same method years ago.
Another option is cutting wheel to the nut. Obviously you will ruin the cv end, but you’re replacing it anyway. You may touch the hub a bit also, but it’s really not a big deal if you do.
I def would get someone in the car to stand on the brakes when its on the ground, then as others mentioned, get the socket and ratchet or breaker bar, and put a nice 3 or 4’ section of pipe over it and stand/jump on it. It should come right off fairly easily, but you need to take advantage of the mechanical advantage that the pipe on the handle of the ratchet/breaker bar provides…
I really wouldnt jump on it, too much chance for it to come off the nut and strip it. if you get a long enough pipe you will be able to do it without jumping.
Well Joe (91MR2) came over with a 4 foot extension pipe for me to use…and got in the car, put his foot on the brakes as hard as he could, with me putting my back into the pipe/breaker bar…and this was the result:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]17196[/ATTACH]
So we went back to get another bar, and this time bought a torch too…and heated the shit outta the nut several times…and this was the result:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]17197[/ATTACH]
We never did find the piece that broke off the 2nd time around. I just remember pushing/lifting HARD, hearing a snap/seeing a spark, and a piece whizzing just inches past my face…
So i decided to throw in the towel, rope tow the bitch to Sears auto since they’re close enough to comfortably rope tow the vehicle, and make sure to get a print out of their $200 quote, so i can hold them to it when they try to stick me with the costs of all the parts they’ll probably have to break/cut in order to replace the axle for me.
The parts i looked up, $60 +/- for the axle, plus whatever the cost of new gear oil would be…lets just assume after tax, parts woulda ran me $90 or so. So i’m paying them $110 to deal with the frustration, and instead of spending all night out in the cold working on it, wondering how i’m getting to work tomorrow…i got to have a few cold ones and a delish burger at Bar Louie. Not a bad end to an afternoon/night that started off shitty.
So its the shops fault your cars is corroded together and they should be responsible for anything that breaks being removed? I need a career change. Please keep going to sears they deserve customers of this caliber.
If shops want to charge waaaaaaay too much for labor, bet your ass I’m gonna hold them to an initial quote. It’s a flaw in their policy to quote jobs before even seeing the vehicle, they’re setting themselves up to be taken advantage of…God forbid someplace that charges $80+/hour for labor and still finds need to charge a markup on parts gets slightly taken advantage from time to time lol.
Did you PB Blast this first and let it soak before you messed with a breaker bar? Or heat it up? Or both?
That much corrosion, and you’re gonna need more than just brute force.
And what most people said is dead on. These are torqued to like almost 200ft-lbs most times, and should require either a impact or jack handle on a ratchet and standing on it to get it off.